USPTO Patents Application 09365735

UNFTED L : .FES DEPAFTTIVIEIVrT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office

Address: COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS AND TRADEMARK
Washington. D.C. 80231

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APPUCATtON NUMBER

RUNG DATE

FIRST NAMED APPUCANT

ATTORNEY DOCKET NO.

1

EXAMINER 1

A.

1

ART UNIT

1 PAPER NUMBER |

DATE MAILED:

INTERVIEW SUMMARY

Ail participants (applicant, applicants representative, PTO personnel):

(3)

Date of Interview Sf ^ 3

Type: □ Telephonic □ Televideo Conference ^l^ersonal (copy is given to □ applicant ^^^applicanf s representative).
Exhibit shown or denrtonstration conducted: (D Yes ^^^o If yes, brief description:

Agreement D was reached. ISwas not reached.
Ctaim(s) discussed: ^

Ciaim(s) discussed: !

Identification of prior art h.......^- /He^cW^ '^3i i^u^C.^

Description of the general nature of what agreed to if an agreement was reached, or any other comments:- p^^^^"*^ ^'^CuS-^.^^

( A fuller description, If necessary, and a copy of the amendments, if available, which the examiner agreed would render the claims allowable
must be attached. Also, where no copy of the amendments which would render the claims allowable is available, a summary thereof must be
attached.)

^1

It Is not necessary for applicant to provide a separate record of the substance of the interview.

Unless the paragraph above has been checked to indicate to the contrary. A FORMAL WRITTEN REPLY TO THE LAST OFFICE ACTION
IS NOT WAIVED AND MUST INCLUDE THE SUBSTANCE OF THE INTERVIEW. (See MPEP Section 713.04). If a reply to the last Office
action has are ready been filed, APPLICANT IS GIVEN ONE MONTH FROM THIS INTERVIEW DATE TO FILE A STATEMENT OF THE
SUBSTANCE OF THE INTERVIEW.

Examiner Note: You must sign this form unless it is an attachment to another form.

ANDREW FAILE
SUPERVISORY PATENT EXAMINER

FORM PTOL-413 (REV. 2-98) TECHNOLOGY 'CENTER 2600

Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, Section 713.04 Substance of Interview must Be l\/lade of Record

Except as otherwise provided, a complete written statement as to the substance of aQy_face-to-face or telephone interview with regard to an application must be
made oi record In the application, w hether or not an agreement with the examiner was reached at the interview.

§1.133 Interviews

(b) In every instance where reconsideration is requested in view of an interview with an examiner, a complete written statement of the reasons presented at the
interview as warranting favorable action must be fiigd by the applicant. An interview does not remove the necessity for reply to Office action as specified in §§ 1 .ill
and1.135. {35U.S.C. 132)

§ 1.2. Business to be transacted in writing. All business with the Patent or Trademark Office should be transacted Jn writing. The personal attendance of
applicants or their attorneys or agents at the Patent and Trademark Office Is unnecessary. The-action of the Patent and Trademark Office will be baised exclusively
on the written record In the Office. No attention will be paid to any alleged oral promise, stipulation, or understanding in relation to which there is disagreement or
doubt.

The action of the Patent and Trademark Office cannot be based exclusively on the written record in the Office if that record is itself incomplete through the failure
to record the substance of interviews.

It is the responsibility of the applicant or the attorney or agent to make the substance of an interview of record in the application file, unless the examiner indicates
he or she will do so. It is the examiner's responsibility to see that such a record is made and to correct material inaccuracies which bear directly on;lhe question of
patentability.

Examiners must complete a two-sheet carbon interteaf Inten^iew Summary Form for each interview held after January 1 , 1978 where a matter of substarice has
been discussed during the Interview by checkirig the aippropriate boxes and filling in the blanks in neat handwritten form using a ball point pen. Discussions regarding
onty procedural matters, directed solely ta restriction i'equlrBrrierits for which interview recordation is othenA/ise provided for in Section 812.01 of the Manual of Patent
Examining Procedure, pointing out typographical errors or unreadable script in Office actions or the like, or resulting in an examiner's amendment that fully sets forth
the agreement are excluded from the Inten/iew recordation procedures below.

The Interview Summary fom shall be given an appropriate paper number, placed in the right hand portion of the file, and listed on the "Contents* list on the file
wrapper. Jn a personal interview, the duplicate copy of the Fomn is removed and given to the applicant {or attorney or agent) at the conclusion of the interview. In the
case of a telephonic inten^iew, the copy is maiied to the applicant's correspondence address either with oi' prior to the next official communication. ""

The Form provides for reconjation of the following information:
-Application Number of the application

' -Name of applicant '" * . : . . . , ,

-Name of examiner
. - Date of interview *

-Type of interview (personal or telephonic)

-Name of participant(s)) (applicant, attorney or agent, etc.)

- An indication whether or not an exhibit was showri'or a demonstration conducted

-An identification of the claims discussed . . ,

-An identification of the specific prior art discussed ...

-An indication whether an agreement was reached and if so, a description of the general nature of the agreement (may be by attachment of a copy
of amendments or claims agreed as being allowable). (Agreements as to allowability are tentative and do not restrict further action by the examiner to the
contrary.)

-The signature of the examiner who conducted the interview
-Names of other Patent and Trademartc.Office personnel present.

TTie Form also contains a statement reminding the applicant of his responsibility to record the substance of the interview.

It is desireable that the examiner orally remind the applicant of his obligation to record the substance of the interview in each case unless both applicant and
examiner agree thai the.examiner will record -same. . Where the examiner agrees to record the substance of the interview, or when it is adequately recorded on the
Form or in an attachment to the Form, the examiner should check a box at the bottom of the Form informing the applicant that he need not supplement the Form by
submitting a separate record of the sul>stance of the interview.

It should be noted, however, that the Interview Summary Form will not norrrtatly be considered a complete and proper recordation of the inten/iew unless it includes,
or Is supplemented bv the applicant or the examiner to include, all of the applicable items required below concerning the substance of the interview:

A complete and proper recordation of the substance of any inten^iew should Include at least the following applicable items:

1 ) A brief description of the nature of any exhibit shown or any demonstration conducted,

2) an identification of the claims discussed,

3) an identification of specific prior art discussed,

4) an identification of the principal proposed amendments of a substantive nature discussed, unless these are already described on the Interview Summary
Form completed by the examiner,

5) a brief identification of the general thnist of the principal arguments presented to the examiner. The identification of arguments need not be lengthy or
elaborate. A verbatim or highly detailed description of the arguments is not required. The identification of the arguments is sufficient if the general nature
or thrust of the principal arguments made to the examiner can be understood in the context of the application file. Of course, the applicant may desire to
emphasize and fully descrit»e those arguments which he feels were or might be persuasive to the examiner,

6) a general indication of any other pertinent matters discussed, and

7) if appropriate, the general results or outcome of the interview unless already described in the Interview Summary Fonn completed by the examiner.

Examiners are expected to carefully review the applicant's record of the substance of an interview. If the record is not complete or accurate, the examiner will give the
applicant one month from the date of the notifying letter to complete the reply and thereby avoid abandonment of the application (37 CFR 1.135(c) ).

Examiner to Check for Accuracy

Applicant's summary of what took place at the interview should be carefully checked to determine the accuracy of any argument or statement attributed to the
examiner during the interview. If there is an inaccuracy and it bears directly on the question of patentability. It should be pointed out in the next Office letter. If the
claims are allowable for other reasons of record, the examiner should send a letter setting forth his or her version of the statement attributed to him. If the record is
complete and accurate, the examiner should place the indication "Interview record OK* on the paper recording the substance of the interview along with the date and
the examiner's initials.